Feel the power
It’s Thursday so you know what that means: New MLB Power Rankings! Yeah! I’m pumped. I should note (get it? Note? Sports Note?) that we take the last ten games a team has played very seriously. So when you wonder why a team has moved way up or way down despite their overal record, thats why. If you’ve got a problem with that, share it.
Biggest Climber: Atlanta Braves, 12 spots to number 10
Biggest Fall: Colorado Rockies, 7 spots to number 22
| Ranking | Last Rank | Team | Record | Comment |
| 1 | 4 (+3) | Tigers | 63-31 | Topping the Power Rankings for the first time due to their starting pitching and suprising hitting. |
| 2 | 3 (+1) | Red Sox | 57-36 | Rookie Jon Lester is doing his best to turn the Big Two of Schilling and Beckett into a Big Three |
| 3 | 8 (+5) | Yankees | 55-37 | When will they make the trade we all know is coming? |
| 4 | 2 (-2) | Mets | 56-37 | Must keep rookie phenom Pelfrey in rotation. Or trade for Zito. |
| 5 | 5 (NC) | Cardinals | 52-41 | Put together a nice winning streak before twice getting blown out of the water by the Braves. |
| 6 | 7 (+1) | Twins | 53-40 | With their record they would be in first in the AL West, NL Central and NL West. Instead they are third in the Al Central. Oh well. |
| 7 | 1 (-6) | White Sox | 58-35 | A slow start to the second-half could mean a Kenny Williams trade. |
| 8 | 9 (+1) | Blue Jays | 52-42 | I’m betting we’ll see a big fall from the Blue Jays soon as they realize they have no chance at the playoffs. |
| 9 | 12 (+3) | A’s | 50-45 | Is Rich Harden the new Kerry Wood? |
| 10 | 22 (+12) | Braves | 45-49 | The hottest team in baseball having won 9 out of 10. The Wild Card is still within reach, especially with Chipper Jones going into MVP-mode. |
| 11 | 14 (+3) | Angels | 48-46 | Angels are going to win the AL West, you heard it here first. |
| 12 | 6 (-6) | Padres | 50-44 | Jake Peavy has been off this year and now Trevor Hoffman is coughing up saves. Thats not good. |
| 13 | 13 (NC) | Reds | 49-45 | Doing well despite trading away two starting position players. |
| 14 | 11 (-3) | Rangers | 49-46 | Kevin Mench has fallen out of favor and if they are smart they’ll spin him into a decent starting pitcher. |
| 15 | 17 (+2) | Giants | 48-47 | Boy is this team old. This could very well be their last hurrah. |
| 16 | 14 (-2) | Dodgers | 47-47 | Looking to buy a bat and bullpen help. |
| 17 | 16 (-1) | Diamondbacks | 46-47 | In a no man’s land of are they buyers or are they sellers. I bet they start selling and build for a run next year. |
| 18 | 21 (+3) | Phillies | 43-50 | Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell both on the block. Thats a lot of offense to give up. |
| 19 | 19 (NC) | Astros | 46-49 | If they are going to make a second-half surge, they better get on it. |
| 20 | 18 (-2) | Brewers | 46-50 | Ben Sheets coming back in a week could be the shot in the arm they need. |
| 21 | 20 (-1) | Mariners | 45-50 | Rumors have them going after Soriano hard, which makes little sense to us. |
| 22 | 15 (-7) | Rockies | 45-49 | Not a good second-half start, losing 9 out of 10. |
| 23 | 23 (NC) | Orioles | 44-53 | Will be moving players before the deadling, will Tejada be one of them? |
| 24 | 25 (+1) | Marlins | 42-51 | Any success this year is just the cherry on top of the sundae. |
| 25 | 24 (-1) | Indians | 42-52 | Some decent bullpen arms to offer to contenders. |
| 26 | 28 (+2) | Nationals | 40-56 | Big trade with Reds has yet to produce results. |
| 27 | 26 (-1) | Cubs | 36-57 | A complete mess. People talk about Baker losing his job, what about the GM? |
| 28 | 30 (+2) | Pirates | 34-62 | And the rebuilding continues. Do they have any sort of plan? |
| 29 | 27 (-2) | Devil Rays | 39-56 | Someone should rescue Carl Crawford and Scott Kazmir from this hell hole. |
| 30 | 29 (-1) | Royals | 32-62 | Reggie Sanders is a goner, who will join him? |
Poll question of the day
Last time I looked the Poll was tied so we can’t have a new question unless the tie is broken, now can we? Vote for a winner and I’ll change.
Did you know?
You know how NBA players wear different numbers when they play for the US National Team? Obviously players that generally wear the same numbers in the NBA can’t both wear that number on the National team but did you know that the numbers available are pretty slim?
But FIBA rules allow jersey numbers to run only from 4 to 15, according to Team USA spokesman Craig Miller.
Only between 4 and 15, that seems a bit odd, doesn’t it? Whats wrong with 1, 2, 3? Or 16 for that matter? Here’s another odd one, the US assigns practice jersey numbers starting at number 20 and then going up from there alphabetically. Carmelo Anthony is number 20, Gilbert Arenas is number 21, etc. and so on. Why start at 20? Sports confuse me sometimes.
It’s over Sammy. It’s over
Another delusional probable steroid user thinks he can come back into the game. No Sammy Sosa, you won’t be playing baseball again. Enrique Rojas, writing for the fantastic ESPN Deportes (that means sports in spanish people) has an article up where Sosa says he’d return for the right offer. Why would anyone make you an offer Sosa? You sucked last year with the Orioles. You are old and washed up. It’s over buddy. Fade away now and leave us alone.
An ugly parting
Shea Hillenbrand has been sent packing by the Blue Jays after complaining about playing time and being dressed down by Toronto Manager John Gibbons. Hillenbrands has a pretty decent bat and he can play first and third, not to mention DH, so I’m betting some contender will make an offer for him. The whole cutting of Hillenbrand has a kinda childish element to it though. Toronto cut Hillenbrand after he refused to sit in the dugout with his teammates during last nights game. Hillenbrand says he refused to do so after Gibbons tore him a new one in a closed door team meeting. Hillenbrand had ripped the organization for not playing him and also, oddly enough, for not congratulating him on adopting a baby girl over the weekend. Regardless of the situation, some team is about to get an above-average player to fill in a hole some where.
Odds and Ends
Steve Nash cut his hair and now he has a buzzcut. And yet some how the Earth continues to spin. He doesn’t look very good, to be honest.
30 people got hurt in high winds at the new Busch Stadium, none too seriously though, which is good.
Simmons choses an English Premier League team to root for. I’m an Arsenal man myself.
[tags]Sports, Baseball, Bill Simmons, Steve Nash, Sammy Sosa, Food, Basketball[/tags]